Biomedical subjects

M Weckström

Publications and source records attributed to M Weckström.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1988

Non-linearities in response properties of insect visual cells: an analysis in time and frequency domain.

Intracellularly recorded voltage responses of the visual cells of the blowfly (Calliphora erythrocephala) were analysed in the time and frequency domains. The photoreceptors were stimulated with pulse (impulse), sine, sine-sweep and pseudorandomly (white noise) modulated green light. The blowfly photoreceptor responses, as analysed from the linear transfer functions, seem to arise from a system similar to that of cascaded low-pass filters, with a corner frequency at about 63 Hz (SD +/- 12 Hz). The system is likely to have at least five poles, including one linear second order term, and a pure delay element. Arising from the non-linearities a second harmonic can be seen in the power spectra of responses elicited by sine modulated light. This non-linearity is at least partly explained by the self-shunting property of the membrane voltage response. Light adaptation increases the non-linearities in frequencies lower than 20 Hz, as seen in the decrease of the coherence function with the signal-to-noise ratio remaining constant. Light adaptation also accelerates the transduction process and it appears in the linear transfer function in a form typical to negative feedback. With low stimulus frequencies it causes a 'phase lead'-type non-linearity. In addition, the sine-sweep responses show quite different frequency characteristics in respect of depolarization and repolarization. Lateral inhibition between photoreceptor responses recorded from retinular cell axons in the lamina appears as a drop in gain and as an increasing phase-lag in frequencies from 30 Hz upwards in linear transfer functions. The source of this capacitive-like coupling can be considered to be in the high resistance barriers compartmentalizing the second optic ganglion into discrete anatomical units.

Adaptation, Ocular↗

PubMed1986

Photoreceptor latency: analysis and definition.

Latency as a time difference between the stimulating light-pulse and the recorded potential response was studied with intracellular recording techniques on blowfly (Calliphora) visual receptors. Latency was shown to be a meaningful parameter in analysing the information content of the recorded receptor potential responses by comparing latency vs. amplitude functions using different intensities of stimulating light, stimulating angles of the incident light, ambient temperatures, and flies of different developmental stages. The maximum amplitude of the response is not sufficient to describe stimulus-response functions. With the help of the linear correlation analysis the most useful latency criterion among three widely used latency parameters (viz. the amplitude threshold (1 mV), the visual estimation (detectable voltage) and the maximum slope intersection with the base-line) was investigated. These were studied by correlating them with other commonly used response parameters. An arbitrarily chosen latency parameter that shows the lowest correlation coefficient is considered to contain more additional information from the photoreceptor voltage response than a latency parameter with high correlation. According to our analysis the most useful latency determination is proposed to be the time from the stimulus onset to the intersection of the maximum tangent at the base line, a criterion which also allows one to use concepts derived from systems analysis. The concept of latency is discussed and a definition proposed in the light of this and other recent findings.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Spectral sensitivity in insect photoreceptors at a range of temperatures.

The function of the visual receptors of blowflies (Calliphora erythrocephala) was studied using intracellular recording techniques where by the eye was kept at various temperatures below room temperature. Cooling was found to reduce the response amplitude, decrease the time course, and increase the latency. The Q10 as calculated from different recordings and from various temperature steps was found to be dependent both on the temperature range and the stimulation intensity, although more on the latter. From different kinds of spectral sensitivities of the receptor cells those with a double peak (UV and green) were studied with regard to the effect of the temperature change. We found a difference in the relative sensitivity change of the two peaks if the temperature was lowered. The sensitivity in UV remained enhanced in relation to green after cooling. This finding can be considered as supporting the sensitizing pigment theory, according to which the double peaked spectral sensitivity is explained by assuming a photostable pigment transferring the energy to the photopigment. This support is valid if the UV sensitivity at room temperature is assumed to be higher, and is limited by the reduced energy transfer to the photopigment caused by the increased mobility of the sensitizing pigment.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fast-acting compressive and facilitatory nonlinearities in light-adapted fly photoreceptors.

Light-adapted fly photoreceptor cells were stimulated with brief positive and negative contrast flashes (contrast = delta I/I, I = intensity). Membrane potential responses to a wide range of flash intensities were well-fitted by a static nonlinearity followed by a compartmental model represented by a gamma function. However, the agreement improved if one parameter of the gamma function, n, varied quadratically with input light intensity. Response amplitude and time to peak were estimated from the fitted parameters. Response amplitude varied approximately linearly with contrast but showed nonlinear compression with the largest negative flashes. Reducing the background light level by 3 decades or hyperpolarizing the cell electrically produced stronger nonlinear compression with both contrast polarities. This is probably due to fast voltage-activated K+ channels. Responses to double flashes with varying time separations were well-fitted by summed gamma functions, allowing separation of the individual flash responses. There was no detectable time-dependent interaction between paired positive flashes at all separations. However, the response to two negative flashes was greater than the linear prediction at short separations, and this facilitatory nonlinearity decayed with a time constant of about 1 msec. The facilitation is probably related to resonant behavior in light-adapted photoreceptors and may be due to an IP3-induced intracellular Ca2+ release.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A method for determining photoreceptor signal-to-noise ratio in the time and frequency domains with a pseudorandom stimulus.

We have developed a method that utilizes repeated sequences of pseudorandomly modulated stimuli for calculation of the SNR either in the time or frequency domains. The method has the advantage that the distribution of SNR over relevant frequencies is readily observed. In addition, a SNR value, calculated as the ratio of the corresponding variances, is an estimate of the true SNR because it has been weighted by the cell's frequency response. The procedure offers significant advantages when studying signal transmission in nonspiking cells like photoreceptors.

Animals↗